


SCP 4090

by kaskaskasleil



Category: SCP Foundation
Genre: Abandonment, Angst, Character Death, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Parent-Child Relationship, Uncle-Niece Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 21:16:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18374237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaskaskasleil/pseuds/kaskaskasleil
Summary: 11-year-old Grey just crawled back out of her grave after having died of the Bubonic Plague over four-hundred years ago, with the strange discovery that she can no longer die. She wanders the streets of a small town in England, alone, cold, and confused, until a man shows up who claims to have been looking for her. She is questioned, and taken back to a facility known as "The SCP Foundation". Many strange creatures are housed there, and she even meets a few kids there about her age that all share one similarity: they're not normal. Grey goes on to befriend many, both staff and SCPs alike, even encountering someone she'd yearned to reunite with.





	1. Chapter 1

Grey yawned, pulling herself into a sitting position. She rose to her feet, letting the ragged moldy blankets formerly tucked around her fall to the ground. Grey stretched, letting out a long yawn. She then found her way to the door of the building enclosing her and pushed it open. She squinted as she was hit in the face with a bright flash of light. 

It was always so much darker in the little metal room she slept in then the outside world was. Grey's eyes adjusted to the sunlight as she stepped through the cool grass, shuddering a bit at the cold, pulling her dark scarf tighter around her neck. Grey made her way out of the scorched wreckage of what was once a structure and to the pale stone path that led to the middle of the village. She would go and talk to some more people, maybe make friends. But most of all, she really needed someone to help her in the unfortunate circumstances she'd found herself in.

Grey used to live in a small house at the edge of the village, with her uncle, with her mother mother as well when she was very young. When her mother had drowned, her uncle had taken up the duty of raising his sister's child as Grey's father had died before her birth. For years, Grey lived peacefully with her uncle. They were never very wealthy, quite poor in fact, but they still had each other and that was more than enough. Grey's uncle was always a very kind man, helping people in worse circumstances than he was, even giving them money when he didn't have much to give. Rather intelligent, too, and fluent in french, he'd even taught Grey some.

He never married, nor had he any children of his own. He dedicated his life to serving those around him, and was rather skilled as a doctor. He helped anyone in need and never charged for his services. He was a loving uncle to Grey and devoted much of his spare time to Grey, and their life was wonderful. That was before the black death struck.

The black death came and went, and it had been like that for many generations. However, know one had contracted the sickness in years, so it was somewhat of a surprise when it returned full force. All the sudden, dozens of people would become very ill, start to develop painful growths, and be dead within a week. Her uncle of course did everything he could to try and cure the poor diseased souls. He had to wear this mask while around the sick people that looked kind of like a bird head, and the "beak" part was always full of posies to keep him from getting the black death.  

He did his best to try and treat them, spending nearly every second of his time with them, rarely even sleeping. However, it wasn't enough, and all the infected died in the end. It tore her good-hearted uncle up so badly, having to see so many good people die. As time passed, more and more people caught the black death. One morning, Grey felt feverish, but decided not to tell her uncle, as not to worry him with all the stress he was already dealing with.

Grey had assumed the fever would be gone by the next day, yet when she awoke the next morning, painful red growths had appeared on her body, and she was unable to get out of bed. She was hit with the realization that she'd caught the black death.  Her uncle came in to check on her not even an half an hour later, surprised the energetic young girl wasn't already out and about. Grey's uncle was horrified to see the state his niece was in. Four days later, Grey had reached the final stage of the black death.

The growths on her body were huge and black, the pain excruciating, and even breathing was painful. Her uncle had done everything he possibly could to save her, having not left her bedside once since she'd fallen ill. Grey's last memory before everything went dark was of her uncle sobbing and screaming for her not to fall asleep as her vision blackened and the pain finally subsided. Grey awoke later after an unknown amount of time, completely engulfed in dirt, with no memory of how she'd gotten there. Frantically, she dug and managed to pull herself back up to the surface.

Grey was met with an even more confusion as she took a good look at her surroundings. Grey was in the middle of a wide field. In front of her was a curved path of strange pale stone with several buildings lining it. Grey didn't recognize the strange structure of the buildings. In the middle of the field was a large puddle. Grey stepped over to it to wash off the thick coating of dirt from her body.

It felt so cold, but it felt so good to be free of the dirt. She looked down at her arms and legs, finding no more sores. Grey turned back to the strange buildings, only to discover several people, none of which she recognized, clothed in somewhat strange garments, staring at her with their mouths agape. Just what she was looking for.

"Um, hello chaps, I seem to have found myself in a rather...unfortunate situation, and...I was wondering if any of you could help me?" Grey'd asked.

To Grey's shock, everyone continued staring at her with a look of horror. She took some steps till she was only a little distance away from the crowd, deciding to ignore their strange unreasonable responses.

"Well, you see, I caught the black death a little while ago, and then just kinda passed out. I have no idea where I am, and can't seem to find my uncle. Is there a way if any of you could help me find him?" Grey continued.

At this declaration, everyone appeared even more terrified, some running away, while others simply backed away or stood frozen.

"Wait, is their something behind me?" She asked confused.

Grey spun around to find nothing. This confused her to no end. Then, it struck her, and she mentally scolded herself at her stupidity. She had just told a crowd of people she had the black death! Of course they would run from her!

"Wait!" Grey called after them. "Let me clarify! I don't have the black death anymore! Ever since I crawled out of the ground, I've been cured!"

This seem to set the people off even more, until only few dwindled. She approached a pale man with short, pale hair. Grey gently grabbed at his arm, looking up at him.

"You don't think you could maybe-?" Grey began, but was cut off as the man tore her off of his arm and threw her to the ground, her head coliding with a sharp rock.

It pierced through her skull, and pain shot through Grey's head. She pulled herself into her knees, and placed a hand on the afflicted side of her head. The skin whole side had fallen off, exposing a bit of skull, and when she pulled her hand back, it was covered in a Grey substance, carrying the most horrible rotting scent. Suddenly, the huge gash was covered by something growing over it, and pain ceased. Grey's eyebrows knotted in confusion. 

The man who'd her looked even more horrified than before.

"Wh-what are you?" He shuddered violently.

"It's okay." Grey reassured him. "I forgive you." She smiled, pulling herself up to face him.

"Get the hell away from me, you monster!" The man screeched before running away.

"W-wait!" Grey called after him, on the verge of tears. "Pl-please don't leave me! I'm lost and I have no idea where I am and I need help!"

Grey was left alone in the field. Warm tears began to slide down her cheeks. Monster? Why was everyone being so cruel to her? Confused and hurt, Grey found her way back to the edge of the puddle. There, she caught a glimpse of her reflection.

Grey had changed. Her skin had paled considerably, and her hair darkened. No traces of the black death remained on her body, and her lips had turned a light blue color. Her face held no trace that it had previously been ripped open. Confused, Grey took hold of a small, sharp rock. 

She slashed it against her cheek, ripping the skin open. No blood poured from it, the flesh a dull grey. Suddenly, the cut closed itself, new skin growing over it. It seemed like her body had somehow gained the ability to heal itself. Grey slashed at various areas of her body, in shock and desperate to inflict real damage upon herself.

Finally frustrated, she threw the rock to the ground, before dropping into a laying position in front of the water and letting out a weak, broken cry. She sobbed intensely. Where was she? Why we're people so scared of her? Why could she heal herself now?

Maybe Grey was a monster? Than she deserved to be treated this way, then, Grey decided. Her sobs had faded into a soft whimpering, tears still pouring d own from her eyes. She was scared, and tired, and cold, and hungry, and she just wanted to go home. She wanted her uncle, who would always comfort her, tell her it would all be okay in his soothing voice while holding her tightly. But that wouldn't happen, anymore. Grey was on her own now.

That brought Grey to where she is right now, two weeks later. Whenever someone caught sight of her walking down the stone path, they would run into the nearest building, some screaming. It hurt, really.

"P-please!" Grey finally broke down. "S-someone! Anyone! Help me!"

No one answered her desperate cry. Grey sat down on a stone doorstep and sobbed. Why did everybody hate her? Grey felt a large, comforting hand on her shoulder, and turned to see a tall pale man with dark hair had sat next to her. He was dressed in a long white coat and black pants, a sparkling stone hanging from an amulet around his neck.

He smiled gently at Grey.

"Do you need some help, sweetheart?" He asked softly, wiping the years from her eyes.

Grey couldn't believe it. Somebody finally cared about her! Hope surged in her chest.

"Who are you?" Grey asked curiously.

"I'm Dr. Bright, and I believe you're the one who I've been looking for."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, really sorry this chapter took so long, kept losing motivation. Hope the fact that it's so long makes up for it, though. Also, in this chapter and the last chapter, I've placed a few hints as to who Grey's uncle might be, if you haven't figured that out already. Lets just say...he's also at the foundation.

"You're a doctor?" Grey questioned. "So was my uncle! Do you cure sick people too?"

Bright chuckled.

"Not that kinda doctor, kiddo." He replied.

"Sorry sir, but my name is Grey, not kiddo. Also, what other kinda doctors are there?" Confusion sparkled in Grey's eyes

"I didn't think it was, kid. Just an expression. And you've probably never heard this, but there are more kinds of doctors than the ones that heal you. You can be a doctor in any kind of science, it's just what the degree is called after you graduate from school for it."

"You went to _school?"_ Grey's eyes widened. "How did you afford it? A-are you a noble? O-or a king? Is that why you have that sparkling stone around your neck?"

Bright chuckled again.

"Not at all, kiddo. I know, back in your time, only the rich people were educated, but that's changed now. There's more equal opportunities for everyone, no matter the race, background, religion, or gender."

"Back in my time?" Grey was hit with even more confusion. "Sir, h-how long was I asleep?"

Bright sighed.

"I came here to find you because I need to ask you some questions. If you cooperate, it'll be easier to figure all that stuff out. You in?" Bright extended his hand.

"Sure." Grey took it.

"Alright. But first things first," He glanced down at Grey's tiny, emaciated form. "Why don't we get some grub? Looks like it's been a while since you've had anything to eat."

Grey's face lit up at the prospect. Since the two weeks she'd awoken, she'd eaten barely anything, save the occasional scrap someone else had discarded.

"Really?" Grey stared up at the kind stranger, hope and doubt glistening in her gaze. "You'd give food to me? Even though I'm a monster?"

Bright sighed once more.

"Listen kid," He began. "I don't know what those ass holes told you, but it's not true, whatever it was. You hold no less value than anyone else."

"You really think so?" Grey asked. "Also, what's an ass hole?"

"One, don't repeat that word. And two, I really don't think you're that much different than a regular kid. Now come on." Bright helped Grey to her feet. "We wait out here any longer, you might just waste away to nothing."

Grey took Bright's hand, clinging tightly to it as he led her down the pale stone path.

"How far is your house from here?" Grey questioned as they continued walking. "What kind of food do you like to make? Do you have any family that lives with you?"

"One," Bright replied. "Where I live is...a pretty long ways from here. I've never been that good at cooking, but I live with a whole lot of people, one of them usually does all the cooking. And as for family, I have two brothers, and two sisters."

"But...if you're house isn't nearby, where are we going to eat at?" Grey asked.

"Don't worry, I've got that figured out."  
____________________________________

"So you can just walk in this place and they'll give you food?" Grey stared up in amazement at the dark building with two light colored arches on top.

"Well, you have to pay for it, but basically, yeah." Bright replied.

"Woah..." She muttered.

"Why don't you go sit down over there while I go get us some food?" Bright gestured to an alley between the food building and another brick building. "From what I understand, you don't have the best rep around here, so you should really try and lay low for the time being, till we leave this town."

Grey nodded, and hesitantly took a seat in the shade.

"You stay right there, and I'll be back in a minute." Bright called over his shoulder as he entered the food building.

Grey watched as he dissapeared from her line of sight, and a wave of regret instantly hit her. She should've went with him. Someone finally offered to help her, and she'd let them walk away that easily. What if going to get food was just an excuse to get away from Grey? Maybe Bright was just as cruel as everyone else, and just wanted to trick her into thinking she'd finally made a friend, and then leave to spite her.

That was just it, Grey decided. A feeling of both loneliness and betrayal came over her. An overwhelmingly tiny part of her wanted to believe Bright would still come back. As the minutes went by, Grey was forced to accept it. She'd been abandoned. She curled up against the alley wall as tears welled in her eyes. She wouldn't cry, though, she'd stay strong.

Just as Grey was about to get up and move elsewhere, the door opened and out stepped Bright, carrying a brown bag. We walked over and sat beside Grey.

"Sorry it took me so long." He apologized. "There was a line."

Grey sat stunned as the doctor pulled out two little warm packages wrapped in a strange material and placed them into Grey's hands. She hadn't been abandoned after all.

"Well, eat up." Bright pulled out the remaining two packages for himself.

Grey trembled, overcome with emotion by the kindness of this stranger.

"You alright kid?" Bright asked.

Tears began pouring out of Grey's eyes, that someone finally cared.

"W-whoah! You're okay! No need to open the flood gates right now!"

"W-why are y-you...hic...b-...hic...being s-so n-nice to me?" She choked out between sobs.

"Listen, kid," Bright directed Grey's gaze up towards him. "It's like I said before. Your life is no less valuable than anyone else's. You may look different, but deep inside you're just a normal kid. And you don't deserve any of the things you're going through. That's why I'm here to help."

"Thank you..." Grey threw her arms around Brights torso, burying her face into the fabric of his shirt. "Thank you so much!" Grey continued to sob as Bright held her tightly.

"You're the only one who...hic...hic...who..." Grey continued.

"It's okay now, kid." Bright reassured. "Just...just let it all out."

"You're the only one out of all these people who actually cares!" She blurted out. "So many people would just ignore me, or-or run away! B-but you came, and you actually cared, and you wanted to help, and-and you even got me food! And-and!" Grey broke off into more sobs.

Bright let out a deep sigh, releasing his hold on Grey.

"Look, just...eat, okay? Your Mc chickens will get cold." He warned.

Grey snorted, letting out a giggle.

"What?" Bright questioned.

"Wh-what in God's name is a Mc chicken? Ha ha ha!" Grey continued.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot." Bright replied. " You're not quite up to date on all these modern terms, are you? A Mc chicken is a piece of chicken covered in bread crumbs in between two slices of bread."

"That sounds rather strange," Grey paused thoughtfully. "But also like it would taste sort of good."

Grey unwrapped one of the tiny packages and bit into the food. It was unlike anything she'd ever tasted, yet it was still okay. It had a somewhat artificial taste, but it was so warm, and the bread, though unfamiliar, and had a decent flavor.

"What kind of bread is this?" Grey asked upon almost finishing her first "Mc chicken".

"It's a biscuit." Bright answered through a mouthful of his own w n food. "You've never had one before, they were invented after your time."

 _How long has it been since my time?_ Grey found herself wondering.

She and Bright had soon finished both of their biscuits.

"Well, suppose I better take you back to others at the hotel now, kid." Bright spoke up.

"Hotel?" Grey questioned.

"Basically an inn." Bright clarified.

"Oh."

Bright led her down the narrow streets until they came to a cluster of buildings, a large lot out front with a few strange metal things. Grey had seen many of these, and from what she could gather, it seemed that people took rides in them. How they worked, Grey didn't know, as she'd never seen a horse pulling one. Excitement flared up in Grey's chest as Bright stopped right next to a black one with shiny trimming, digging in his pockets and pulling out several interesting looking keys.

"Are we going to take a ride in one of the metal things?" Grey inquired.

"Yep. Sure are taking the car, kid." Came Bright's reply.

 _So a "car" is what those things are called!_ Grey noted.

Bright seperated a black little trinket with two red circles from the ring the keys were attached to. He pressed on one circle, causing the "car" to make a clicking noise, which startled Grey a bit. Bright chuckled at her reaction, pulling on a handle on the side of the car near Grey. It sprung open, revealing two seats at the front of the car, a strange wheel mechanism in front of one, and three seats in the back.

"Hop in."

Grey did as instructed, sliding into the strange chair. Bright closed the door behind Grey and got in on the other side of the car, the one with the wheel. He pressed a key into one of the car's slots, and it began rumbling.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Grey jolted.

"Yep." Came Bright's reply.

All at once, the car began moving, drawing somewhat shocked reaction from Grey. Bright leaned over, grabbing a strap from the roof of the car ant pulling it over Grey.

"Safety precaution." He explained.

"So, how does a 'car' work?" Grey asked after a few minutes of watching her surroundings rush past with great fascination. "I mean, it isn't pulled by a horse, so how does it move?"

"It runs on a liquid substance called gasoline. There's a thing in the front of the car called the engine, and it uses the gasoline as energy to move. It's quite complicated if you want to know exactly how the whole thing works, but that's the basics of it." Bright replied.

"So interesting..." She marveled.

"Oh, and here's something I think you need to know before you meet the two who came with me," Bright added. "All races have equal rights now, and there's no segregation. Also, people are allowed to love whoever they want now, regardless of race or gender."  
____________________________________

"Wake up, kid. We're here."

Grey was jostled awake as Bright softly shook her shoulder. It had been a long trip, and the seats were so comfortable, that Grey had fallen asleep. Bright opened the door for her, and Grey stepped out, glimpsing her surroundings. They were in the middle of a dark stone lot, a very large white building in front of them.

 _That must be the inn._ Grey figured.

Next to the inn was another building, smaller, but emitting a mouth-watering scent.

 _And that_ _must be another one of those food buildings._ She decided.

In front of the food building stood a tall, thin woman with dark skin and dressed in an elegant suit in a heated conversation with an even taller, quite muscular, woman with eye glasses dressed in a pretty yet casual dress. Both appeared to be middle-aged. Grey caught a snippet of their conversation as Bright led her over to them.

"You were supposed to meet me back here at ten-thirty! It's eleven-fifteen!" The dark skinned woman began angrily.

"Look Tiki, I'm sorry, okay? I got lost, okay babe?" The paler woman attempted to retaliate.

"Don't you 'babe' me!" Her companion hissed angrily. "You should have been here forty-five minutes ago!"

"There was this place I wanted to check out that looked really cool, and then I saw some more cool places, so I wanted to go back and find you so we could go see them together! But I got lost!" The muscular woman explained.

"You got lost and find your way back here for two hours?!" The other snapped. "How can anybody be this-ugh!" She broke off.

"Well, ladies," Bright spoke up at last. "Hate to interrupt you guys during such a b personal discussion, but I found the kid."

Both women turned to face the duo. Shock immediately lit up in their gazes as they caught sight of Grey, though more prominent in the dark skinned woman's face. She gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oh my God!" She cried. "You're so thin, and your clothes, and...oh, you poor thing! Come inside with me Immediately!" She dragged a surprised Grey over to the inn as the other two followed.

The inside of the inn was elegant, white walls and dark carpet. The staff and temporary residents directed strange looks at Grey as she passed. The tall woman led her to a large metal door. She pushed a circle next to it and it slid open, causing Grey to leap back in shock.

"Wh-what was that?!" She questioned shakily.

"It's just an elevator, dear." The dark skinned woman replied. "Step in, and we'll go to the hotel room."

Grey did as asked, though somewhat hesitantly. After the other three had followed, Bright pushed a circle next to a number three, one of many circles. The door closed, and the elevator began moving up. Grey was not prepared for this, and yelped, throwing her arms around Bright, clinging to his coat. Bright chuckled, ruffling Grey's hair.

"This is supposed to happen, kiddo. It's basically a box attached to strings, and right now the strings are being pulled up so the box comes up to the fourth floor. It's perfectly safe." He reassured her.

Grey relaxed a little,releasing her grip on Bright. Soon enough, the metal box came to a stop, and the door reopened. Grey felt relief wash over her as she dashed from the cramped metal box to the inn halls. She followed her three companions down the narrow hallway and stopped at a door towards the end of the hall. The talk dark skinned woman pulled a paper slip from her pocket and inserted it into a slot in the door. A little light flashed green, and with a beeping sound the door clicked open.

"How did you do that?" Grey asked the woman in amazement.

"It's called a key card," She explained. "Inside the paper, there's a little thing that unlocks the door."

"That's...amazing." Grey replied, awestruck.

Grey followed the others into the room. It had to large beds, each with an elegant pattern displayed on the comfortable looking blankets and pillows. A large window lay at the back of the room, the curtains drawn back to reveal a view of the surrounding. An interesting looking chair stood in front of a small table, and a large black box stood atop a table against the wall in the center of the room. Bright grabbed a peculiar looking black rectangle from in front of the black box, and flopped onto one of the beds.

He pressed on the rectangle, and the front of the black box flickered on to a strangely realistic painting of two women and two men on a piece of furniture, the furnishing of the room peculiar to Grey just as every building she'd encountered. This seemed quite strange enough, but then the people started moving! And talking!

"Matthew!" One man yelled at the other. "If you don't take that back right now, I'll divorce you!"

This statement was then followed by...laughter? Though no one in the scene appeared to be laughing, so it appeared that whoever was must be hiding. Grey couldn't fathom what could possibly be funny about the previous statement, however.

"Wh-what is this?!" Grey exclaimed in great confusion.

"Relax, kid." Came Bright's reply. "It's just a television. This thing called a camera can show exactly what someone is doing it saying, and then record that data. People will basically make up plays and record then with a camera, and they can be replayed on a television."

"How queer!" Grey exclaimed.

How could any of this be real? It all sounded like magic, a box that could show you plays, a paper that could unlock a door, a metal box that took you to different floors, and even a horseless carriage! Where even was Grey? Was this a different world entirely? Was she dreaming this all?

 _How peculiar can this situation get?_ Grey questioned herself.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see the tall woman.

"You can watch T.V. later, but let's get you cleaned up first." She stated.

She led Grey to a wooden door at the side of the room and opened it, revealing what appeared to be an elevated marble bowl, a strange white thing filled with water, and a large, steep white dip with a piece of metal above it.

"I need to fix your hair, and it might take awhile so please be patient." The woman explained.

She then wetted Grey's hair, and after about a painful hour of her lathering the tangled mess with different liquids and running a brush through it, it had returned to its usual state, even better in fact. It felt incredibly smooth, and very shiny.

"This," The woman pointed to the steep white thing after they'd finished. "Is the shower. Turn the knobs to get the water going. The blue knob is cold water and the red knob is hot water. That's the toilet, if you have to go, go in it, and then use the toilet paper, and just pull the metal thing to dispose of it. Wash your hands in this, the sink, and the soap bar is over here. Use this to clean yourself with."

She handed Grey a peculiar bottle.

"It's liquid soap. There should be a rag in the shower for you to use. And on the sink is a towel to dry yourself off with. And these," She placed a bundle of clothes on the sink. "Are for you to wear when you get out and dry off. Well, I'll leave you too it." The woman exited and closed the door, leaving Grey alone.

Grey stepped into the "shower". The warm water came as a much needed relief from the cold. After she'd scrubbed herself with the soap and rinsed off, she dried herself and went to put on the clothes the nice woman had left for her. There was a warm knitted black dress, a grey fur coat to go over it, and a black pair of boots with grey fur trim. Grey slipped the dress on.

It was quite loose, and a bit long, but it was comfortable. She pulled the grey coat over it and then the boots, which were somewhat loose, but were still a relief after having walked around bare foot for so long. Grey exited the bathroom, seeing her three new friends sitting on one of the beds watching the "television". The tall dark-skinned woman approached her.

"Well don't you look adorable? Sorry if the clothes are a little big on you, You're smaller than we thought." She smiled softly at Grey.

"Aww!" The muscular woman exclaimed. "Such a little lady!"

"Thank you." Grey stared down at the ground, flushed.

"Lookin' sharp there, kiddo." Bright commented. "Raiju better watch out, looks like we got another little lady's woman on our hands."

"Hmm?" Grey tilted her head to the side in a manner similar to that of a confused dog, not knowing the meaning of what Bright had said.

"Ignore him," The pretty dark-skinned woman replied, before picking up a wooden stick and a stack of strange paper. "He's being immature. Also, we have some questions for you, but I guess we should start with an introduction first. I'm Agent Tequila, and over there," Tequila pointed to the muscular woman. "Is my partner Dr. Corona. And I believe you've already met Dr. Bright."

"It's nice to meet you all." Grey replied. "I'm Grey Greyson Grey."

This was met with stifled laughter from Corona and Bright, and Grey could tell even Tequila had to bite her lip to keep from grinning as she scrawled something down on the paper. Grey looked down at her feet. People had always reacted that way, and she didn't blame them.

"Ignore them." Tequila comforted upon seeing Grey's distress. "I think that's a lovely name. Now how old are you?"

"Eleven." Grey replied.

This statement was met with shock from her companions.

"I honestly would've thought that you were younger than that." Bright spoke up after an akward pause. "I mean, it's not like you're immature or anything, you're just so small."

"I always was a lot smaller than everyone else my age." Grey flushed slightly.

"Can you please tell us everything you know about your life?" Tequila asked after scrawling down more of what Grey assumed were notes. "Your family, the year you were born in, how you were raised, and everything up untill now, please."

Grey took a deep breath.

"I was born on September the eleventh, 1601. My father died before I was born, but from what I heard, I look just like him. My mother died when I was four, so my uncle, her twin brother took me in. He never got married or had children because he was a monk. He was also a really good doctor, and a really kind person. We never had a lot of money since he gave a lot of it to the poor, but we got by okay. Everything was peaceful, until the black death struck again." Grey felt emotion seize her again at the memory of the dark time.

"It's okay, take your time." Tequila placed a gentle hand on Grey's shoulder. "Why don't sit down?" She pointed to the bed Corona and Bright were sitting on, taking a seat next to Grey after she'd accepted the offer.

"No one had caught the black death in years." Grey continued shakily. "It was so shocking qhen all at once, dozens of people started getting it. M-my uncle h-he didn't have a lot of time to sp-spwnd with me a-after that." Grey felt her eyes begin to water. "He tried hard, he really did, but nothing saved the sick people. They all died. It made him so upset. One day I... I f-felt sick, a-and I th-thought it was just a cold, so I d-didnt tell my uncle, but th-then the next d-day I h-had the b-black death!" Tears now flowed freely from Grey's gaze.

Tequila wrapped her arms around Grey, offering comfort.

"A-and m-my uncle, h-he bl-blamed himself! H-he s-said it was h-his f-fault for not p-paying closer attention to me! He was s-so sorrowful. And... then I...then I thought I died, but then I crawled out of the ground, and nobody liked me, and I have no idea where I am or what's happened to me!" At this point Grey was sobbing into Tequila's shirt.

Some things were whispered between Tequila, Bright, and Corona, but the only words Grey could make out were "Four" and "similar".

"It's okay now." Tequila spoke softly, in a way that remunded Grey of her uncle, the way he'd speak to her when she was injured, scared, or upset. "All that's over now."

"Peolpe rarely get the 'black death' anymore, or Bubonic plague as it's called now." Bright chimed in while Corona rubbed Grey's back gently. "As for the current year, it's 2026. You've been out for a long time."

"But that's more than four hundred years!" Grey exclaimed, pulling away from Tequila and Corona. "How is that even possible I was unconscious for so long? And why am I still eleven? Did I actually die?" Questions raced through Grey's head.

How could so much time had passed? Bright shrugged.

"We honestly don't know, kiddo. It might have something to do with your other anomalous properties."

"How do you people know all this anyway?" Grey questioned. "Why are you so interested in me?"

"We work for an organization known as the SCP Foundation." Bright replied. "Our job is secure, contain, and protect things that aren't meant to be seen by the rest of the world."

 _And How come I've never heard of them?_ Grey questioned mentally.

"Am I one of those things that isn't meant to be seen by the rest of the world?" Grey spoke at last.

"Only beacause you'd be treated cruelly in the outside world." Tequila answered. "But yes, you are."

"Are you gonna take me back to the foundation?" Grey asked.

"Yep." Corona replied.

"Are you going to put me in a cage?" Grey asked sadly as the posibility flashed through her mind.

Corona and Bright burst out laughing, earning a glare from Tequila.

"Of course not, honey." Tequila reassured, wrapping her arms around Grey. "You'll have a normal room, and you'll get to wander around whenever you want almost anywhere. Now why don't you come with us so we can start heading over to the foundation. It's a ways away from here."

"Okay." Grey replied, somewhat hesitantly.

As much as she didn't like the idea of being "contained", at least these people were a lot nicer than the others she'd met so far.

"Thank you for being complient." Tequila smiled.

____________________________________

Grey's eyes opened as she looked around drowsily at her surroundings, recalling the previous events that day. The four had stopped to get something at the food place after leaving the inn. Grey had gotten to try something called a "hamburger", a piece of meat between two pieces of bread, and "chips", also known as "fries", which were potatoes sliced up and covered in breading. It was good, she had thought, and tasted fresher than a Mc chicken. They'd then rode in the car for a long while, before reaching a desolate place.

There, Grey was introduced to a peculiar contraption known as a "helicopter". People could get in it, and it would fly, like a bird! Grey still found it astonishing. The four rode in the helicopter along with another person who was apparently controling it for several hours. Grey must have fallen asleep at some point during the night, because now she was back in the car, sitting next to Bright in the back seat while Corona and Tequila rode up front, Tequila's sleeping form leaning on Corona's broad shoulder.

It was endearing, Grey thought.

"What time is it?" Grey broke the silence.

Bright turned, as if slightly surprised to see Grey awake, while Corona didn't seem to notice, appearing to be barely conscious herself.

"3:05 A.M." He replied.

"That's quite late, isn't it?" Grey commented.

"Sure is, kid." Bright agreed.

"Are we almost to where we're supposed to be going?" Grey asked.

"We'll be there in a few minutes." Bright reassured.

Suddenly, the car scraped against a metal mesh-like material, resulting in a horrendous screeching. Tequila awoke with a start, jumping slightly.

"Shit!" Corona hissed, now wide awake.

"Well, shit just got real up in here." Bright commented.

"What the hell did you do?!" Tequila whipped around to face Corona.

"I scraped the fence!" Corona responded.

"How bad is it?" Tequila asked frantically.

"I dont know, let me go check!" Corona exited the car, followed by Tequila and Bright.

Grey figured she ought to the same, and stepped into the biting chill that was the night air, and inspected the car as well. Across its pitch black side lay a white streak, spanning the whole length of the car. The reson for all the fuss became apparent.

"Mother fucker!" Tequila exclaimed.

"Damn, Corona." Bright adressed her. "You just messed up Kondraki's perfect car. You are _never_ going to hear the end of this." He patted her shoulder.

"What the fuck were you thinking, driving so close to that fence?" Tequila demanded. "We could've had a wreck! There's a child in this car! Grey could've been seriously injured!"

"It's okay, I doubt it would've mattered much if I'd gotten an injury." Grey offered, only for her statement to be ignored.

"I was exhausted, okay?" Corona defended. "I've barely gotten any sleep this past week! I'm seriously stressed out right now!"

"That's no excuse!" Tequila shot back. "You should've asked Bright to drive! Hell, you could've even woken me up and asked me to drive! And you're one to talk about being stressed! Being married to you puts me through more stress than you could possibly imagine!"

"Do they fight like this a lot?" Grey questioned.

"All the time, kiddo," Bright replied. "All the time."

Corona sighed, a hurt look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Tiki. This was my fault, I'm the idiot. I should have been paying attention. Now let's all get back in the car and drive home."

Tequila didn't answer, but slid back into her seat. Bright and Grey did the same, Corona retaking her seat up front. A couple of minutes passed in akward silence. Finally, when they pulled up to a peculiar white building so massive Grey couldn't see where it ended, Tequila spoke.

"I'm...sorry Corona. I shouldn't have yelled or said those hurtful things about you." She

"It's okay, babe. It was my fault anyway." Corona replied.

With that, the two pressed their lips together in a kiss.

 _Aww! I'm glad they forgive each other!_ Grey thought.

"Don't get too intimate right now, guys." Bright warned, smirking. "There's a child in this car. Save all the sweet passionate love-making for the bedroom."

This statement was met with a glare from both Tequila and Corona.

"Shut the hell up, Bright." Tequila warned.

Grey just sat with a puzzled expression. What had Bright meant? And why were Tequila and Corona so angry about it?

"One more thing," Corona opened her door and stepped out of the car. "Can we not tell anyone about the car thing tonight? I'll tell him in the morning, but for now I'm _way_ to tired to deal with a furious Kondraki."

"Well, I won't tell anyone." Bright replied.

"Okay, but the longer you put it off, the worse he's gonna react." Tequila sighed.

"You have my word that I shall speak to no one about this!" Grey reassured.

They walked to the front door, Tequila pulling out her keys and holding a strange card up to the door. A red light scanned over it, and tge door made a high pitched noise befor being pulled upward. It swung shut a few seconds after the four had made their way into the facility. It was dark, the halls narrow and cold.

"Why is it so dark?" Grey questioned. "It might help to have some candles or torches hanging."

"To help keep out people who aren't supposed to be here." Came Tequila's reply. "Just stay close, and we'll help you navigate."

Grey made sure to stick to one of the adults at all time as not to get lost. Finally, after a few minutes, they came to another door. Corona again pulled out a card, scanned it, and let the door swing open. Grey had to squeeze her eyes shut as a burst of light hit her eyes. The room beyond the door was clean and white, a few chairs lining the wall. She could see people sitting in the chairs, and someone standing against the wall.

Grey decided to step closer and get a better look at them.

"We're back." Tequila called, stepping into the room.

In one chair sat a boy, probably around nineteen. He had pale freckled skin, and curly shoulder-length hair. Beside him sat another boy around the same age, with dark skin and very short dark hair. Leaning against the wall was a tall pale-skinned man probably in his early forties, dark hair and a dark beard.

"And you brought the kid?" The bearded man asked. "That's her?" He pointed at Grey.

"Yup. That's her in all her zombie child glory." Bright replied.

"Hello, sweetheart." The man greeted, almost kneeling in front of Grey. "I'm Dr. Kondraki. I'm friends with Bright, Corona, and Tequila." Kondraki offered a hand.

 _So this is the man who's car Corona damaged._ Grey made a mental note to herself.

"I'm Grey." She replied, shaking his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The dark-skinned boy over there is my son Draven, and The boy with the pale skin is TJ, Bright's little brother." Kondraki explained.

"Hello." Grey muttered.

Draven gave a "Hi!" While TJ responded with "Hey there."

A door on the buildings left side clicked open and out stepped a very tall, chubby man with pale hair and a strange hat covering his forehead. One of his eyes was dark blue in color. He smiled upon seeing Grey, kneeling in front of her. Grey couldn't explain why, but she felt somewhat afraid of this man.

"Hi there kiddo." He grinned, revealing his unusually sharp teeth. "I'm Dr. Alto Clef."

"Clef, what are you doing up this late?" Kondraki questioned. "I said you could go to bed, I'd wait for them to get back."

Clef shrugged.

"Couldn't, Konny. Sigurros had another nightmare, the poor lil' whippersnapper. Had to sit up with her."

"The same one where the fox was in control of her again?" Kondraki asked.

"Yup." Clef confirmed.

"Poor kid." Kondraki sympathized.

"What's goin' on up here?" A voice rung out from a staircase leading to a lower floor, and a girl ascended.

She looked to be about Grey's age, and was tall, with dark skin and a lean-muscled build, and was wearing a dark blue shirt with a wolf on it and black trouseres. She had medium colored furry ears that looked much like wolf ears, and four fluffy tails of the same fur color, each of which were nearly as large as the girl herself. Her body was littered with several black markings that reminded Grey of lightning, the most prominent marking across the left side of her face. The eyes were a stunning turquoise blue, standing out beautifuly against the shades of grey. Several scars ran across her body, and her right ear was so torn that half of it flopped down.

She walked straight up to Grey.

"Who's this kid?" She questioned with a tilt of her head, leaning over to give her a curious sniff, causing the girl to recoil suddenly and Grey to jolt. "She smells."

This was followed by laughing from Draven, TJ, Bright, and Clef, Tequila and Corona currently no where to be found.

 _Who is this girl?_ Grey wondered.

"Raiju! That wasn't nice!" A voice scolded, and Grey turned to see that someone else had come from the floor below.

He was a tall arabic man, with short dark hair and ice blue eyes. His arms and the exposed part of his legs also appeared to be made of a strange blue metal.

"Apologize to her now, Raiju." He ordered.

The wolf girl sighed.

"Sorry I said you smelled bad." She offered a hand to Grey, which she hesitantly took. "I'm Raiju, and this dude here is Cain, but I call him Pops since he pretty much adopted me."

"Nice to meet you, child." Cain smiled gently.

Grey was too weirded out at this point to do anything much but stare at her surroundings with her mouth agape. It was indeed a strange situation she'd found herself in.

"To answer your question, Raiju, about who 'this kid' is" Bright spoke up. "She's the kid I said I was gonna be bringing back here."

"Ohhhh." Raiju replied.

"Well, anyone hungry?" Clef asked out of the blue.

"I am." Grey replied over the chorus of "No thanks"es, as it had been hours since she'd last eaten.

"I could definitely go for some waffles right about now, if that's what your makin'." Raiju added.

"What else would I be cookin' at three-thirty in the damn morning?" Clef confirmed.

"I think you could definitely go to bed, right about now." Cain stared down at Raiju.

"Aww, c'mon Pops!" The wolf girl pleaded. "I'll go to bed right after I eat! I'm _really_ hungry!"

Cain stayed silent for a moment, before sighing.

"Fine, but go to bed right after you finish eating." He decided. "I'm going back to bed. Goodnight Raiju, I love you."

Raiju wrapped her arms around Cain, to which the man returned the embrace.

"'Night Pops, love ya." Raiju replied as Cain pulled away and headed back down the stairs.

Grey sat down on the bench beside Raiju in the kitchen where Clef was now preparing "waffles".

"What's a waffle?" Grey questioned.

Raiju turned to her with a shocked gasp, while Clef continued poiring some substance into a strange, short pot.

"You never had em' cause back in your day they didn't exist." Clef explained. "The only way I can describe a waffle is pure ecstasy. You'll just have to try it yourself."

Raiju pulled out a strange black rectangle from a hole in her trousers.

"What's that?" Grey questioned.

"My phone." Raiju replied.

"Your what?" Grey asked again.

"Hand her my phone and let her play on it, Rai." Clef called.

Raiju leaped up from her spot and grabbed another black rectangle from the counter and scampered back to the table with it. She held it in front of Grey, pressing its side. Grey jumped back a bit as tge black turned to blue with the words "swipe to unlock". Raiju swiped her finger across the picture, and it split from the place she swiped into a blue screen with several tiny pictures.

"Wh-what?" Grey muttered.

"Here." Raiju placed a hand on Grey's, and swiped her finger on the screen.

"It's moving!" Grey exclaimed. "Everything is so strange and new!"

Raiju then showed her to play games on the "phone", and Grey's first waffle was heavenly. After Clef had finished, he had taken back his phone, and told Raiju to show Grey to her room. After Rauju had placed their dishes in the sink and began leading Grey down the staircase, she caught a snippet of conversation between Draven and TJ.

"I mean, he's your brother, dude. I know he did a pretty bad thing to you, but you can't keep holding a grudge like this."

"I know, man. But what he did was not okay. I could've dealt with the trauma somehow. He didn't have to alter my mental state like that."

Grey found this a strange conversation, but was too tired to really comprehend it at tge moment. At the bottom of the staircase was a long hallway lined with doors. Raiju pointed to the second door on the right.

"That's your room."

Grey nodded.

"Thanks. Goodnight."

"You too." Raiju responded, continuing further down the hallway.

Grey opened the door to reveiw a decent sized room, with a large bed against the wall and a small window above it, weak moonlight shafting through the curtains. A wardrobe sat against one wall, a shelf with a few books in another. A furry rug lay in front of the bed, as well as the wardrobe. Grey stepped in, clicking the door shut and walking across the tile floor over to the wardrobe. Inside, she found a set of pale blue night clothes, which she changed into before flopping down onto her bed.

She examined a glass bottle on the night stand beside her bed, a plesesnt aroma drifting from it. Parfum, Grey realised. She dabbed some on herself, as she remembered Raiju's comment about her scent. As Grey rolled on to her side, she was struck with another wave of lonliness. She missed her old home. She missed her old friends.

She missed her uncle, and wanted him so bad. A large part of Grey hoped this was all just a strange dream, but as time stretched on, that possibility seemed to grow slimmer and slimmer. In an attempt to comfort herself, Grey recalled a line from a song her uncle used to sing to her when she was little.

 _Ring around the rosies,_  
_A pocket full of posies,_  
_Atishoo! Atishoo!_  
_We all fall down._


End file.
